How to Make Your Home As Chill as a California Cafe

This past year I bought a fiddle-leaf fig tree, started a tile board on Pinterest, and rediscovered the aesthetic pleasure of macramé. When I thought about why, I realized there's only one person to blame. Wendy Haworth is the Los Angeles–based interior designer responsible for the Cali-chic aesthetic of the Café Gratitude and Gracias Madre family of vegan restaurants in L.A., Orange County, and San Diego, as well as the handsome, vegetable-focused Winsome in L.A.’s Echo Park. She spent her early twenties in the photo departments at Elle and Vogue, gaining experience that turned out to be invaluable to her career as a designer.

Photo by @wendy_haworth

Wendy Haworth in her studio with Chef Evan Funke

“It’s just like taking a photograph,” Haworth says of her work. “You see holes and know that you need to fill them.” With seven restaurant interiors under her belt and more on the way, the designer has helped to define the relaxed but refined L.A. look that seems to be making its way around the globe. “I try not to do things that feel trendy. I like restaurants that feel like they’ve been around a long time,” Haworth told me, citing Musso & Frank, Café Stella, and the Chateau Marmont as some of her favorite spaces to eat and drink in L.A..

She gravitates toward classic materials like glass, wood, and stone, and she always does her homework when designing a new space. “It has to feel authentic,” she says, which meant visiting the city's classic diners with a tape measure to ensure the stools were the perfect height at Winsome, and sourcing tile from Oaxaca for the first Gracias Madre in West Hollywood. We asked Haworth to share some of her favorite products and designers so we could bring home that L.A. look. (Sunshine not included.)

Give Your Succulents a Proper Home

At Gratitude in Newport Beach, Haworth opted for the custom planters (above) from Brooklyn-based artist Matthew Ward. She’s also a fan of L.A. ceramicist Tony Brown and always asks her favorite floral designers Hollyflora to tackle the arrangements.

Photo by @cletile

Add a Playful Pattern With Floor Tiles

“I love the patterns you can do with concrete tiles,” Haworth says. Two of her favorite sources are Kismet Tile, owned by Tracey Reinberg, and Clé Tile out of San Francisco. Haworth used Clé’s London Apothecary tile for the floor at Café Gratitude in San Diego, pictured above.

Tiles Brighten Tabletops Too

“I really love the soul, texture, and sheen of the hand-cut Moroccan zellige tiles,” says Haworth. She recommends Zellij Gallery, who designed the above tabletops at the Gratitude Newport Beach juice bar and is working on the upcoming Gratitude in Beverly Hills, and Badia, who designed the tabletops at Gracias Madre. Tile tables are durable enough for outdoor patios, but look great inside a sunny room as well.

Photo by Skandia Shafer

Be Bold With Wallpaper

Haworth tends to use patterned wallpaper in secondary spaces like hallways and bathrooms to break up the space and add some personality. At Winsome, above, she wallpapered the back of the restaurant with a custom-made whimsical homage to Phil Dike’s 1938 watercolor, “Sunshine in Echo Park,” and at Gracias Madre in L.A.’s Arts District she picked out this Hermès wallpaper for the hand-painted quality. When designing residences, she says, “I love wallpapering powder rooms because I think you can be more daring.”

Photo by @niki_csanyi

Give Macramé a Chance

Haworth found Free Creatures Macramé on Etsy. The Eugene, Oregon–based designer weaves wall hangings that bring a natural and earthy look to the restaurants and can be spotted at several Cafe Gratitude locations. Have a breakfast nook that needs a makeover? Free Creatures will make custom designs to fit your space.

Get That California Glow

The California Workshop, a furniture and lighting studio in Costa Mesa, makes eye-catching linen lights with low-energy LED bulbs. Haworth installed a large group of pendants in the Gratitude Newport Beach juice bar. For the home, she says, The California Workshop's tabletop lamps would be equally lovely.